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The response to the threat remains diplomacy led, backed up with military options available

Jim Mattis

“The response to the threat remains diplomacy led, backed up with military options available to ensure that our diplomats are understood to be speaking from a position of strength."

The White House has said all options are on the table when it comes to North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US.

But Mr Mattis has consistently stressed the preference for non-military actions such as international sanctions.

He renewed that message as he met Mr Song at the US Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii.

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South Korea's relations with Kim Jong-un have improved in recent weeks

Mr Song said: “We both understand each other well and that as an alliance, we always go together.”

South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program must be resolved diplomatically.

She said she was certain Washington would consult her government first if a military option were to be considered.

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South Korean police prepare for the Winter Olympics

She declined to comment if Washington had given Seoul clear assurance but added: "This is our fate that is at stake. Any option that is to be taken on the Korean Peninsula, cannot be implemented without us going along."

After their first formal talks in more than two years this month, officials from the two Koreas have been visiting each other to facilitate the North's participation in the Olympics, to be held in the South's alpine resort town of Pyeongchang.

North Korea has waged a publicity campaign around its attendance, calling for "all Koreans at home and abroad" to promote inter-Korean cooperation.